BUZZ CLUBS
Dietrich among the porcelain
So I had one of those moments, a pause in time when I realize just how blessed I am to have this gig. I had just walked into the Golden Gopher, the best bar I’d ever stepped into (and I’ve stepped into plenty). Coyote Shivers was DJing maximum rock ‘n’ roll at the new downtown L.A. hotspot, which is smartly designed with gothic touches and punk couture ‘tude. The bar sells liquor out the front door, and while people were purchasing such to-go items as a six-pack, Glock key chains, gummy candy tongues and condoms -- “last call” prerequisites no matter where you live -- I stepped into the ladies’ room. Well, that’s when it happened. Surrounded by three chandeliers in a bathroom taking its cues from the ‘40s, I heard Marlene Dietrich singing through the speakers. I mean, they have Dietrich on heavy rotation in the ladies’ room. Achtung, baby!
Ballot driven
Caught up with Fat Mike backstage at the Warped Tour in Fullerton last week. The NOFX frontman tells me his recent Punkvoter.com tour influenced thousands to register to vote.... Also caught up with actress Juliette Lewis, who is performing with her band, the Licks, on the tour. She says it’s the first time she played in front of an all-ages audience, and she’s thrilled. Her band, which features Knitting Factory soundman Paul Ill on bass, is getting a huge response from the kids.... Speaking of the Knitting Factory, don’t miss Madcap on Sunday. The young band’s new album, “Under Suspicion,” is a pop-punk gem.... Big Sandy (a.k.a. Robert Williams) couldn’t walk a foot at the Hootenanny in Irvine on Saturday without someone asking to take a photo. The crooner is such a rock star he had all the tattooed ladies swooning.... Popped into the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach last Tuesday to check out 1208, the Smut Peddlers and Instigator, and omigod! Instigator tore the roof off the sucka. Though it originally formed 22 years ago, the group recently got back together and is taking the scene by storm. In a word: H-A-R-D-C-O-R-E.
Underage punks are people too
And while I’m traipsing about the South Bay, I have a bone to pick with Chris Pike, a South Bay-Hollywood club heavyweight whose latest venture is Sutra in Costa Mesa. Pike, who owns multiple success stories in Hermosa and Manhattan Beach, needs to open an all-ages venue for South Bay punks. The music scene is mind-blowing out there right now because these kids are growing up with it in their blood, with the veterans showing them the way. Although the 21-and-older bar scene is thriving, it’s leaving the kids out in the cold. By the by, Pike says that he will do it out of bricks and mortar if someone finds him a location. Hawthorne, anyone?
